Breast Density Bill Signed Into Law

HARTFORD — During a ceremony at the Capitol, Governor M. Jodi Rell signed an important health care bill into law that was introduced by Senator Joseph Crisco (D-Woodbridge), the co-chair of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee. It requires communication of breast density information to mammogram patients to help with the early detection of breast cancer. Nancy M. Cappello, PhD of Woodbury, a breast cancer survivor, who was a strong advocate for the legislation also attended the ceremony.

SB 458 requires all mammography reports given to a patient on and after October 1, 2009. to include information about breast density.

When applicable, the report must include the following notice: If your mammogram demonstrates that you have dense breast tissue, which could hide small abnormalities, you might benefit from supplementary screening tests, which can include a breast ultrasound screening or a breast MRI examination, or both, depending on your individual risk factors.”

“This has been a long crusade for Nancy Cappello, who has been working for several years to increase awareness about this issue. We made progress in 2006 when the General Assembly approved a bill to expand ultrasound screening to focus on dense breast tissue,” said Sen Crisco. “This year we refined our legislation to make sure radiologists inform physicians if a woman has dense breast tissue. This will lead to the early detection of breast cancer and help to reduce pain and suffering and save lives. I’m pleased the governor has signed this bill into law.”

“When I was diagnosed five years ago with a late stage breast cancer diagnosis, after having many years of normal mammograms, I was told by one of my physicians that the mammogram didn’t find the cancer because I had dense breast tissue,” Dr Cappello said. “I was shocked that no one told me that mammograms are limited in finding cancer in women with dense breast tissue.

“The communication of breast density will now be standardized in the state of Connecticut. Women will have this crucial information which can mean the difference between an early or advanced stage cancer diagnosis — this information is critically important for determining additional screening tools for the early detection of breast cancer as early detection reduces death from the disease,” she concluded.

For more information, go to www.areyoudense.org.